Portal:South Dakota

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The South Dakota Portal

South Dakota (/dəˈkoʊtə/ ^ⓘ; Sioux: Dakȟóta itókaga, pronounced [daˈkˣota iˈtokaga]) is a landlocked state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota Sioux tribe, which comprises a large portion of the population — with nine reservations currently in the state — and has historically dominated the territory. South Dakota is the 17th-largest by area, but the fifth-least populous, and the fifth-least densely populated of the 50 United States. Pierre is the state capital, and Sioux Falls, with a population of about 213,900, is South Dakota's most populous city. The state is bisected by the Missouri River, dividing South Dakota into two geographically and socially distinct halves, known to residents as "East River" and "West River". South Dakota is bordered by North Dakota to the north, Minnesota to the east, Iowa to the southeast, Nebraska to the south, Wyoming to the west, and Montana to the northwest.

Humans have inhabited the area for several millennia, with the Sioux becoming dominant by the early 19th century. In the late 19th century, European-American settlement intensified after a gold rush in the Black Hills and the construction of railroads from the east. Encroaching miners and settlers triggered a number of Indian wars, ending with the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890. As the southern part of the former Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889, simultaneously with North Dakota. They are the 39th and 40th states admitted to the union; President Benjamin Harrison shuffled the statehood papers before signing them so that no one could tell which became a state first.

Key events in the 20th century included the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, increased federal spending during the 1940s and 1950s for agriculture and defense, and an industrialization of agriculture that has reduced family farming. Eastern South Dakota is home to most of the state's population, and the area's fertile soil is used to grow a variety of crops. West of the Missouri River, ranching is the predominant agricultural activity, and the economy is more dependent on tourism and defense spending. Most of the Native American reservations are in West River. The Black Hills, a group of low pine-covered mountains sacred to the Sioux, is in the southwest part of the state. Mount Rushmore, a major tourist destination, is there. South Dakota has a temperate continental climate, with four distinct seasons and precipitation levels ranging from moderate in the east to semi-arid in the west. The state's ecology features species typical of a North American grassland biome. (Full article...)

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Fossil Cycad National Monument was a national monument in the U.S. state of South Dakota beginning in 1922. The site contained hundreds of fossils of the cycad-like bennettitalean plant Cycadeoidea, one of the world's greatest concentrations. Because vandals stole or destroyed all of the visible fossils, it was withdrawn as a national monument in 1957. It is located in northwestern Fall River County, on U.S. Route 18, northeast of the city of Edgemont. (Full article...)

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There are twenty-two colleges and universities in the U.S. state of South Dakota that are listed under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Brookings-based South Dakota State University (SDSU) is the state's largest public university, with a spring 2012 enrollment of 12,725 students. SDSU is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, a governing board that also controls the University of South Dakota (USD), which has the second largest enrollment. In addition, the Board controls four other public universities in the state.

USD is the oldest public university in South Dakota, as it has a founding date of 1862. Augustana University, situated in Sioux Falls, is the largest not-for-profit private university with a spring 2012 enrollment of 1,871 students in attendance. Sioux Falls Seminary, a Baptist seminary located in the city of the same name, is the state's smallest post-secondary institution, as it had a spring 2012 enrollment of 141 students. Globe University–Sioux Falls, a for-profit private university, consists of 262 students and is the state's second smallest institution. (Full article...)

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Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad Geography of South Dakota Flag of Sioux Falls, South Dakota Brock Lesnar 1999 South Dakota Learjet crash Ernest Lawrence Amanda Clement George McGovern Tornado outbreak of May 4–6, 2007 Missouri River Sitting Bull Ex parte Crow Dog Mamie Shields Pyle Cecil E. Harris Eagle Woman Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868)

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The following are images from various South Dakota-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Craven Canyon petroglyphs in the Black Hills. (from History of South Dakota)
Image 2Deadwood, like many other Black Hills towns, was founded after the discovery of gold. (from History of South Dakota)
Image 3A rodeo at Days of '76 in Deadwood. (from Culture of South Dakota)
Image 4Detail from a map drawn by the Lewis and Clark Expedition, showing much of what would become eastern and central South Dakota. (from History of South Dakota)
Image 5A South Dakota farm during the Dust Bowl, 1936 (from History of South Dakota)
Image 6Author Laura Ingalls Wilder used her experiences growing up near De Smet as the basis for four of her novels. (from Culture of South Dakota)
Image 7Huron (left) and Pierre (right) issued rival maps that claimed each as the best place voters should choose for the new state capital in 1890. (from History of South Dakota)
Image 8Map showing the general locations of the tribes and subtribes of the Sioux by the late 18th century; current reservations are shown in orange. (from History of South Dakota)
Image 9Karl Bodmer's portrait of an Arikara warrior, early 1840s. (from History of South Dakota)

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... that Absaroka was a proposed U.S. state that would have included parts of Wyoming, South Dakota, and Montana?
... that the founding owner of a South Dakota TV station became known for industry ads calling him "a helluva salesman"?
... that a South Dakota radio station once played nothing but various recordings of "Amazing Grace"?
... that when the University of South Dakota started a radio station, the transmitter was built by student and future Nobel Prize winner Ernest Lawrence?
... that the Shakespeare garden in Wessington Springs, South Dakota, was the first of its kind in the state?
... that while recruiting for the Blair Colony, Betty Blair reportedly convinced potential settlers that there were no flies in South Dakota?

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Largest cities

Cities in South Dakota, with their populations (as of July 1, 2020, as enumerated by the 2020 United States census):

2020 rank	City	2020 census^[1]	2010 census^[2]	Change	County
1	Sioux Falls †	192,517	153,888	+25.10%	Minnehaha Lincoln
2	Rapid City †	74,703	67,956	+9.93%	Pennington
3	Aberdeen †	28,495	26,091	+9.21%	Brown
4	Brookings †	23,377	22,056	+5.99%	Brookings
5	Watertown †	22,655	21,482	+5.46%	Codington
6	Mitchell †	15,660	15,254	+2.66%	Davison
7	Yankton †	15,411	14,454	+6.62%	Yankton
8	Huron †	14,263	12,592	+13.27%	Beadle
9	Pierre ‡	14,091	13,646	+3.26%	Hughes
10	Spearfish	12,193	10,494	+16.19%	Lawrence

†	County seat
‡	State capital and county seat

See List of cities in South Dakota for a full list.

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